Final answer:
Option B is correct option .The correct usage of an apostrophe in the given options is B) "The cat's fur was soft and shiny." This sentence properly shows possessive case. Other options either misuse apostrophes for plurals or incorrectly apply them to possessive forms.
Step-by-step explanation:
The apostrophe is correctly used in option B) "The cat's fur was soft and shiny." This sentence correctly shows possession, indicating that the fur belongs to the cat. In comparison, option A incorrectly places an apostrophe in "apples" as this is meant to be a plural form rather than a possessive. Option C employs incorrect placement by adding an apostrophe before the 's' when "children" is already the plural form of child, hence it should be "children's", indicating that the toys belong to the children. Lastly, option D incorrectly uses an apostrophe to make "tails" possessive, however, since "tails" is simply a plural noun and not possessive, the apostrophe should be omitted.
To accurately use apostrophes to show possession, one should follow certain rules. For singular nouns or indefinite pronouns, an apostrophe followed by 's' is used, as in "the owner's coat" or "anyone's guess." Plural nouns that end in 's' only require an apostrophe after the final 's', as in "families' homes." It's essential to remember that apostrophes are not used to create plural forms.
Apostrophes to form contractions are also a common purpose of this punctuation mark. A contraction is a shortened form of a word or group of words, where an apostrophe indicates omitted letters, such as in "it's" (a contraction of "it is") or "you're" (a contraction of "you are"). One must not confuse possessive pronouns like "its", "their", and "your" with contractions such as "it's", "they're", and "you're," respectively, as possessive pronouns do not require an apostrophe.